Last week, I called the Nikita season premiere disappointing, and hoped for something that would get me excited about the show again. Who knew it would be Devon Sawa who’d bring it back to life?
I mean, Maggie Q is an action movie star. I’ve long been singing the praises of Shane West. I expect them to be good. Sawa, as ex-Guardian Owen Elliot, was the surprise of season one. But in his fifth appearance, he picked this show up on his shoulders and carried it.
“Falling Ash” saw Michael and Nikita cross paths with Owen when it was revealed that the guy behind the sleeper-agent program they were trying to defeat was the same one responsible for the pharmaceutical Regimen that Owen was last seen trying to wean himself off of. With a mutual enemy (and some help in the form of a reluctant Birkhoff), the trio busted heads and saved a few more, and it was glorious.
Forget having to lay out any more exposition or explanations. No, this week we got to see a fantastic corridor shootout turned brawl between Michael and Owen and some bad guys, reminding us that while the show might be called Nikita, Michael and Owen are just as deadly and fun to watch. Having once sat across a table from Shane West, I can say that his biceps are impressive. It’s hard to believe he was the high school kid I wanted to hug in Once & Again, when I’m thinking about how he’s probably strong enough to snap my neck.
No offense to the ladies, but it was guys’ night on Nikita, and I loved it. Michael and Owen, despite the occasional friction between them, made an effective team. Owen’s tragic past helped him impart some much-needed wisdom to Michael, encouraging him to consider that there might be something more important than the good fight. Not that Michael would take his advice, or we wouldn’t have a show, but it was nice food for thought.
And Owen’s sarcastic wit — which I can also say is one hundred percent Devon Sawa, having had the pleasure of talking to him a few times now — lent an extra edge to the episode. It’s the same edge that has made Nikita different from the CW stereotype, keeping it from being written off as Gossip Girl with a gun.
He’s all that was awesome about season one of Nikita, and he brought it with him into season two.
Luckily for us, Owen will be back. Having left town with the locations of three of Percy’s black boxes, he’s also struck a deal with Division’s foreign opposite number Gogol to help him with his ultimate goal of eliminating the remaining Guardians and Percy. That’s sure to see him cross Nikita’s path a few more times.
When he reappears again, I’ll be the first one to welcome him back.
Clacked by Brittany Frederick 
on Oct 01, 2011 @ 09:27 EST5EDT
